


Safeword

by trashbender



Series: Touch Starved [14]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Comfort, Conversations, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Lance (Voltron) is a Good Boyfriend, M/M, Sex Talk, Silly, Worried Lance (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-01
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-11-07 12:57:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17960969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trashbender/pseuds/trashbender
Summary: Lance decides they need a safeword.





	Safeword

**Author's Note:**

> **A/N:** this is sort of a continuation of Don’t Rush. A sort of part 2, if you will. But it can be read as a stand alone too.

“It’s like a safety blanket,” Lance tried to explain. “In case we need it.”

“In case I do something and you need me to stop?” Keith asked. He didn’t look sick per say, though his eyes definitely looked a little haunted, like he was picturing this scenario in his head. His expression however, was pissed, angry. Like he was preparing for a fight.

Lance really didn’t want to fight, or let Keith think that they needed a safeword because of _him_.

“No no no,” Lance said hurriedly. “If anything I’m hoping _you_ will use it.”

And now he looked like Lance was trying to trick him, like this was some sort of trap. Really, it hadn’t been the best of times to approach Keith, let alone with something like this. He’d been in a bad mood lately, antsy and skittish. He’d snapped at Shiro approximately five times today alone, and he’d mostly been keeping to himself.

Still, they needed to have this conversation. And Lance wasn’t putting it off any longer.

“And why would I need to do that?” He had that look in his eyes, that wounded look that meant he was ready to be attacked and wanted to lash out first. It’s partly why Lance didn’t take his next words as serious as he once would. “Are you _planning_ on hurting me?”

“No,” Lance sighed. He hated that Keith would even ask, but ultimately didn’t blame him. Keith was just in a nasty mood, and while it wasn’t okay that he was actively trying to hurt him, it wasn’t entirely Keith’s fault either. Still it hurt, maybe because it had been a long time since Keith had lashed out at him. “I don’t ever want to hurt you, Keith, that’s why I want a safeword.”

Lance watched as Keith dug his fingers into his arm, lips thinning. He wished he could do something, take away all that had ever hurt him. He couldn’t though, couldn’t even really reassure him until Keith let him in. All Lance could do was be there, waiting.

“So you want a word to stop it all?” Keith’s voice was devoid of any emotion.

Lance rubbed his face. “We don’t necessarily have to stop,” Lance explained. “One of us say whatever we decide the safeword is, and we take a break. Talk about it — if we just need a break or if something was too much.”

Keith’s shoulder eased a little, which was a good sign. He was less hostile to the conversation. “We decide what the safeword is?”

“Yeah,” Lance nodded. “It can be anything. Like space-goo or paladin.”

“Space-goo?” Keith frowned. “Why would I ever be yelling out space-goo, or paladin for that matter, in the middle of sex?”

Lance laughed, he couldn’t help himself. Keith looked positively disgusted, which was understandable if you’d ever tasted space-goo to be honest. “Okay, okay, like... red, that’s a pretty common safeword actually.”

Keith’s nose crinkled. “We can’t yell out that, what if Red actually hears and starts to connect?”

Lance scratched his head. That was true, something Lance hadn’t even thought about. “Right, um... quiznak?”

Keith frowned harder. “How do we tell if one of us just accidentally says that or uses it as a safeword?”

Keith was on a roll today with his logic. Lance groaned. “Sassafras then! None of us will have a reason to yell that out during sex!”

In a deadpan voice, Keith replied, “If that’s the condition then why not Zarkon.”

For a heartbeat there was silence, then Lance burst into laughter. “If you really wanna yell out Zarkon during sex to make it stop, I can promise you that any hard-on I have will die instantly.”

Keith’s lips quirked. “I thought we weren’t trying to kill the mood, just taking a break?”

Lance wonders if anyone else would be able to hear the hesitant, unsure note in Keith’s voice. He wonders if the old him would have managed to pick up on it. Then he discards the whole thought, because he isn’t old Lance, and he does hear the hesitation and unsureness in Keith’s voice.

“Yeah, that’s true,” he said. To keep the mood light but serious, he gives Keith an encouraging smile, because despite the fact that he’d been snarky about his suggestion, he had still participated. “Wanna try again, samurai?”

Keith looked away, eyes scurrying around the room. Lance was half expecting him to say ‘bed’ or ‘lightbulb’ with the way his eyes seemed to be searching his room. Instead Keith took him by surprise by saying, “Hippo.”

If Keith’s voice hadn’t been so small, Lance would have laughed. He did still have trouble not to though, because of course Keith would suggest that. Despite how he acted most of the time, Keith was pure through and through, and Lance loved him immensely for that.

His laughter must have shown on his face though, because Keith glared at him. “What?” He challenged, shooting his chin out. “You have any better suggestions?”

Lance hadn’t realised how much he’d missed this, the bickering. The challenges. He loved that Keith was vulnerable with him, more than he could properly put into words. But he also loved that Keith was comfortable enough with sex now that he openly challenged Lance.

With the stupidest grin, Lance answered, “Shark.”

Keith’s eye-roll must have hurt, but he was also having a hard time not smiling. It was a win in Lance's book. “You would yell that out during sex,” Keith replied, and Lance did laugh then.

“Why would I yell out shark during sex?”

Lance doubted Keith realised how soft his smile were. “To annoy me.”

His smile was hurting his face. “I would do that, wouldn’t I?”

Keith shook his head, but couldn’t hide his smile anymore. He snorted to hide his laughter. “Of course you would.”

For a moment, Lance was so busy watching his boyfriend smile, he nearly forgot the point of the conversation. Wasn’t all conversations just an excuse to get Keith to smile? Partly, if you were Lance. But they really did need a safeword.

Lance sighed. “I’m blank,” he declared.

“Couldn’t we just use stop?” Keith asked.

They could, but with the way they had started exploring, Lance really wanted something that couldn’t be misinterpreted. And ‘stop’ was pretty straightforward, then again— “Remember how you started chanting ‘no’ that one time?”

Keith grimaced. “Yeah...”

Lance smiled, he couldn’t help himself. “It was really cute,” he told him. “Like above adorable, and I know now that you didn’t mean to say no to me but to yourself, but I’m also fairly sure that you might have said something along the lines of “no stop not yet”, and I think we’d be able to tell the difference...”

“But you want something that’s unmistakeable.” Keith nodded, like it made sense.

“Yeah,” Lance sighed. “I get that even in the heat of the moment we’ll probably going to be able to communicate, but I don’t want you to panic and then yell out stop, if you know what I mean?”

Keith was nodding. Once that would be all he did, but after Lance had told him countless times to express himself, he was finally starting to do so unprompted. “I think I get it,” he said. “You don’t want it to go that far. To panic, I mean.”

Lance nodded. Though there was one other reason he wanted a safeword in particular.

When Lance didn’t say anything, Keith started frowning. “You said it’s like a break, a pause, right? So why couldn’t we just say wait and—“ As if realisation dawned on him, Keith stopped himself. He blinked a couple of times, then sent Lance a glare. “You _do_ want a safeword because of me,” he accused, voice like a blade.

Lance sighed. He should have just come out and said it. Because of that he couldn’t really blame the poison in Keith’s voice.

“Not _because_ of you,” Lance said, meeting those burning eyes head on. “ _For_ you, for us actually.”

“How is that for you?” Keith spat out, confliction and worry written across his face. Lance could guess pretty well what was going through his head. Thoughts about being a burden, most likely. It was true after all that Lance wanted a safeword for Keith’s sake, so that he didn’t have to yell “wait” knowing that he was ‘killing the mood’ even if Lance didn’t see it that way. The tough part was making Keith see that too.

“So that I don’t need to worry,” Lance said. If he could have worded it differently, he would, because making Lance worry about him was one of Keith’s worst nightmares. Especially during sex, which in Keith’s mind was “making Lance feel good” time.

With wide eyes, Keith started to say, “You don’t have to—“

“I do, even if I shouldn’t,” he said. “Because I know that if I let you, you would go through a little ‘discomfort’ if it made me feel good.”

Keith didn’t say anything, because that’s what he’d said once. And Lance knew it hadn’t changed. It was ingrained into Keith’s very being — he would always put others above himself. Sometimes it was endearing to Lance, other times it was a pain.

“How will a safeword change that?” Keith asked, sounding defeated.

Lance swallowed the lump rising in his throat. He wanted more than anything else to rush over and hold his boyfriend, reassure him, but sometimes it was more important to talk it out; make him understand.

“You never want to kill the mood, Keith, and I get that. Yelling wait or stop does put a damper on it though, which is why you probably never would. Even if you wanted to.” Keith’s shoulders slumped, as if he was saying ‘you’re not wrong’, staring at his feet. Lance continued. “If we use a safeword, maybe it wouldn’t be like that. Because like we said, it’s just a pause, not a stop. I thought maybe that would make it easier to use, and then maybe I won’t worry as much about whether or not you will actually use it.”

“ _Maybe_ you won’t?” Keith asked.

Lance wanted to laugh, because of course he was focusing on that. “I worry a lot, you know that. Not as much as Shiro though, thank God.”

Another eye roll, that was a good thing right? Lance hoped so.

“So it’s really for the both of us, to make us both more... at ease?” Keith asked, finally meeting Lance’s eyes.

“ _Yes_ ,” he emphasised. “And we might not actually have to use it — just a safety blanket, remember?”

Keith shook his head again, a smile pulling on his lips. “Right.”

They shared a smile, just watching each other as the strained air disappeared. Keith’s shoulders straightened again, as if he had a purpose. And his eyes regained his usual intenseness as he watched Lance.

“Got any ideas?” Lance asked, because he really had no clue anymore.

Keith gave a affirmative nod. “Safeword.”

It took Lance a moment to connect. He was waiting for more, until it hit him what Keith was actually saying. Which, Lance thought, he should have expected. Keith was the most literal person he knew after all.

He laid back on the bed and laughed. “Of course that’s what you choose!”

Keith frowned. “Is it... no good?”

Lance leaned up on his elbows, grinning. “It’s perfect, starboy.”

He watched as confusion melted into happiness. Lance would never get over seeing Keith happy. Simply happy because he’d found a safeword that Lance liked.

Lance leaned up and kissed him. Keith immediately responded, hungrily opening his mouth and pressing their bodies together. When Keith pressed him down into the bed, he laughed and pushed against his chest. “Now’s not the—“ he started, but Keith interrupted him.

“You’re supposed to safeword if you want to stop, remember?” His eyes were dark as they looked down at Lance.

Lance almost swallowed his tongue, brain short circuiting. That look did things to him. “Keith, love of my life, that is _not_ how the safeword works.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “Whatever,” he said and started leaning down to kiss Lance again.

Lance promptly slammed a hand over the offenders mouth. One because he wouldn’t be able to think once Keith kissed him, and two because he had things to say.

“We’re not doing this if you haven’t understood what the safeword actually is,” Lance declared, mouth set in a determined line.

Keith quirked an eyebrow at him, and Lance removed his hand.

“I know,” Keith said lowly, leaning closer to Lance. “What the fucking safeword is for.”

Lance shot his chin out. “Then tell me, starboy, enlighten me.”

Keith’s lips quirked. He glanced at Lance’s lips, licking his own. Then he met Lance’s gaze, his own smoldering hot. “A pause,” he said, “a break to reorder.”

That was good enough for Lance. He grabbed his boyfriends shirt and slammed their lips together.

“Fucking ow,” Keith growled, glaring down at him. Lance only grinned, not even one bit sorry.

“You did good, babe,” Lance said. “I’m thoroughly convinced.”

Keith shook his head, looking exasperated. “You’re impossible.”

Lance only grinned, slamming their lips together once more. Keith didn’t retract this time, in fact he attacked with more vigor.

Maybe it was Lance who’d need the safeword first.

**Author's Note:**

>  **A/N:** Thank you all sooo much for your comments and kudos, it literally means the world to me! Also, I hoped you enjoyed this new instalment of this series! Like I said, this is sort of a continuation of "Don't Rush", because Lance will always be a worried mess. He's just really scared he'll ever hurt his boyfriend, even unintentionally, okay?
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender or anything related to it.


End file.
